


All I Can Do

by zipplekink



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Song fic, based off of 18 because why not, its really gross like pure fluff im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:43:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3258656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zipplekink/pseuds/zipplekink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam pulls his head up from Zayn’s shoulders, fingers sliding around the curve of his back as he lets his voice twine together with the recorded one. “And all I can do is say that these arms are made for holding you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Can Do

**Author's Note:**

> I am sorry if this is awful, I was in a rush to post it lol. And I'm actually a bit grossed out by how much fluff this has I'm so sorry. I had originally wanted to write a fic based off of Thinking Out Loud, and then I was like no, 18. And then this sort of happened.

“Go away,” Zayn mumbles, rolling his face farther into the depths of his pillow, and farther away from Liam’s probably bright, wide awake face.

He feels lips press across the back of his neck, vibrating as Liam hums an unrecognizable tune. Zayn’s not sure what time it is, but Liam smells like soap and coffee so he’s sure it’s morning. At least Liam was kind of enough to keep the curtains closed.

“C’mon babe, get up. I’ve missed you.”

It’s then that he remembers he shouldn’t _be_ here. Zayn had fallen asleep almost seconds after closing out of Skype with Liam, moments after he said, “see you in a few days babe.” And it feels like that had just been moments ago.

Zayn shifts with a grunt, rolling over so he’s on his back and Liam’s leaning over him. Liam’s hair is pushed up into a neat quiff, unlike when he had seen him on Skype. He’s wearing a fitted white button up, new by the looks of it, and he’s grinning down at Zayn with those crinkly eyes that he fell in love with years ago.

“What are you doing here?” He grumbles, grabbing for the sides of Liam’s shirt to pull him down. He’s happy Liam is here, but maybe they can cuddle and sleep and then reunite in the morning the way he promised they would when they were finally back together.

Liam resists, pressing his lips to Zayn’s forehead instead of falling down beside him like he wants. “Thought I’d surprise you. Get up babe, please?”

He wiggles out of Zayn’s grip, despite his whines of protest.

 “Kiss me first and I’ll consider it,” Zayn yawns.

 “Donut,” Liam snorts, fingers circling around Zayn’s wrist to pull him up. It doesn’t feel like they’ve been apart for so long, except for the hammering in Zayn’s heart. He’s awake now, and the clock on his nightstand reads 4:26 a.m. and he wants to be grumpy about it, but he’s missed the smile that’s now taking over Liam’s face too much.

He doesn’t move much more than sit on the edge of the bed, being difficult even though he knows Liam is going to get his way. There’s just something about him that makes it hard to say no to him. Maybe it’s the signature puppy eyes, or the fact that Liam is always so willing to do whatever it is that Zayn needs without complaint.

Liam’s always been a better boyfriend than him.

He had gone to bed in nothing but briefs, and the air is cool against his bare skin. Liam, however, is dressed up, his shirt tucked in pressed black pants Zayn recognizes from one of the award shows they’ve attended. He’s kicked off his shoes, at least.

“Get me a shirt then,” Zayn says gruffly.

Liam turns to dig in Zayn’s drawer. “As long as you stay pantless,” he jokes, throwing an old plaid shirt at Zayn.

He slides it on, padding over to where Liam waits for him by the door. “Kiss me, now?” Zayn asks, fingering Liam’s shirt again. Surely Liam’s missed kissing him as much as he’s missed kissing Liam.

“If I kiss you now, I won’t stop,” Liam admits, teeth gnawing down into his bottom lip. He wants it to be his teeth there instead, wants to explore his mouth with his tongue like it’s the first time they kissed all over again.

“And the problem with that is…?”

Liam’s eyes darken, but he backs away, catching Zayn’s arm to tug him along. “Please, just… I want to do something first, yeah?”

Zayn gives in, following Liam out of the bedroom. The house is completely dark, and he wishes Liam would tell him where they’re going or what he’s up to. He’s gone back to humming the tune he had been humming against Zayn’s skin earlier.

He’s just adjusting his eyes to the dark when Liam brings him into the dining room. There’s a single candle lit on the kitchen table, filling the room with a soft glow. It shadows the contours of Liam’s face, darkening Liam’s beard but it enhances the brightness dancing in Liam’s eyes.

Liam tilts his head, like he too is admiring the how the other looks under the dim light. His expression is warm, and it makes Zayn feel overwhelmed under his gaze. He’s never understood why Liam looks at him like that sometimes, like he’s something to be adored.

“What the – what is this, Liam,” Zayn whispers.

He tugs Liam’s wrist to pull him closer. An arm immediately curls around Zayn’s waist so their bodies press close together. He can feel the fast beat of Liam’s heart against his chest.

Liam leans forward, brushing his lips across Zayn’s ear. “Dance with me, Zayn,” he murmurs.

Zayn pulls his head back to gape at him. Is he serious? “Did you wake me up at four in the morning to dance?” He asks incredulously. “I love you Liam, but you’re mad.”

Liam bites at his bottom lip, but he doesn’t look hurt, instead he laughs, maybe a bit nervously as he pulls out his phone. Zayn can tell by the flicker of Liam’s eyes between the screen and his own face that there’s probably a blush rising on his cheeks and he regrets his words. He slides his arms around Liam’s shoulders as an apology. If Liam wants to dance, he’ll dance.

Liam places the phone on the table as the first chords of a guitar sound before joining his other arm around Zayn’s waist. “Yep,” Liam giggles, fingers digging into Zayn’s hips.

“I must be just as mad as you to go along with this,” Zayn jokes, pulling Liam closer to him. “Or maybe just mad for you.”

It’s not one of his best lines, but he’s been with Liam long enough to not care if he makes a fool of himself. And he’s missed him. He’s missed being close to Liam, feeling Liam’s strong arms around him. He wants to finally be able to kiss him, but it feels like it would ruin the calm air that’s settling around heavily around them.

Liam guides him slowly, and Zayn’s not sure if it’s really considered dancing or just rocking back and forth and he feels a bit ridiculous in just his underwear, while Liam’s clearly dressed for whatever this is but he doesn’t care, because Liam’s voice is filling the room and it takes Zayn a moment to realize that it’s coming from the phone, and not the man pressed against him.

_I got a heart and I got a soul,_

Liam leans forward, resting his chin on Zayn’s shoulder as they move. The melody is the same as the one Liam’s been humming under his breath the whole time, the one he continues to hum along the exposed skin on Zayn’s neck.  

“Liam?” Zayn breathes. _We made a start, be it a false one I know_

The other man doesn’t respond as he moves them around the dining room a little more, the song matching the slow movements of their bodies.

_So kiss me where I lay down, my hands pressed to your cheeks_

Liam tightens the hold around Zayn, and Zayn’s fingers skate through the hair at the back of his head. Something heavy settles in his chest, spreading warmth through him as his mind plays over the words. _I have loved you since we were eighteen_

 _Eighteen_. He remembers the way his heart used to flutter in his chest whenever Liam was close, whenever Liam would smile and his eyes would crinkle and Zayn used to think that smile was special for him. He remembers the night clearly, curled against Liam’s chest at some hotel somewhere while on tour and realizing for the first time he hadn’t want to be anywhere else. How true, _‘right next to you, Liam’_ , had become. He had fallen asleep, instead of letting himself think about it too much because Liam was his _best mate_ , and his feelings had seemed to forget that.

He remembers London, and the way his chest ached because Liam wouldn’t talk to him, wouldn’t come near him. It had been days, and when Liam finally let him come in, his eyes had been red like he had been crying and Zayn hadn’t cared that he was mad and had gone there with the purpose of yelling, of demanding to know what he had done wrong. Instead, he had curled his arms around the other boy’s shoulders, cuddling him until he was ready to speak.

_I love you Zayn. I’m not sure when I figured it out, but I know._

Liam pulls his head up from Zayn’s shoulders, fingers sliding around the curve of his back as he lets his voice twine together with the recorded one. “ _And all I can do is say that these arms are made for holding you.”_

Zayn leans forward, slotting their lips together to muffle his words. He can’t stop himself. The song makes his chest ache because it’s about them, it has to be.

Liam’s lips are pliant under the soft pressure of his as he stills the movement of his feet, giving Zayn the control to guide them. He cups his hands around Liam’s jaw the way he did that first time, after Liam had pulled himself away because he thought he had ruined what they had after his confession. He moves his lips against Liam’s with purpose, because even after three years he’s still unable to find the right words to tell Liam how he feels.

The sound of their heavy breaths fill the room as the melody stops before it’s just Liam’s voice, and the other man is pulling back, though his fingers dig into Zayn’s hip to keep him close. _Kiss me where I lay down, my hands pressed to your cheeks._

Zayn tickles his fingers against Liam’s warm cheeks, smiling at the man in front of him. _A long way from the playground_

“I have loved you since we were eighteen,” Liam declares, no longer singing along. His words are rushed and forced sounding, but his shoulders are pressed back in an air of confidence. “Long before we both thought the same thing.”

Zayn tilts his head, trying to read the expression now on Liam’s face. It reminds him of the first time they had sex, with Liam’s flushed cheeks and the nervousness tinting his features. He hadn’t wanted to _mess up,_ though Zayn doesn’t think he ever could.

It had been fumbled, and Liam’s fingers had shaken so bad that Zayn had to distract him. And it had been quick and maybe a bit awkward, but Zayn hadn’t wanted to be with anyone else.

“Liam,” Zayn says softly, rubbing the pads of his thumbs across Liam’s cheeks. “What’s this about?” They’ve said I love you, a thousand times over, every day for four years. It’s not something Liam should be nervous about.

“I was sat with Ed, and I was trying to pick a song um for – and well, he got this together in no time,” Liam admits, leaning his face into Zayn’s palm.

“For?” Zayn repeats, eyes searching Liam’s face. He feels warmth covering his own and he is glad Liam’s got a grip around him because he’s feeling a bit shaky.

“For you. Because I love you,” Liam gets out, smiling sheepishly.

“I love you too. Until I’m seventy,” Zayn repeats, remembering the way he had smiled when he had heard that line of the song. He remembers when they were first together, and ‘but I love you more’ competitions seemed to take up hours of their day.

_“Well, I’ll love you until I’m seventy, Zayn. You’re not getting rid of me anything soon,” Liam had said, tickling his sides._

_“And at seventy one?”_

_“I’ll love you more.”_

Zayn’s not sure when he realized the truth in that moment, when he realized he did want to spend his life growing old with Liam. Maybe he had always known. They had always been close, inseparable even before the day they both realized that their relationship was a little more than best mates.

“Because I want to marry you,” Liam whispers, eyes falling from Zayn’s face to where he places the palm of his hand against Zayn’s chest.  

Zayn moves his hands down to cup Liam’s neck before running across the broad of his shoulders. “Well, good,” he coughs nervously. He can imagine it, Liam standing at the altar, with vows he had written over and over again to get exactly right, because that’s just how Liam is. “I don’t think I could spend my life with anyone else.”

It was meant to be playful, but Liam doesn’t laugh in return. Instead he looks vulnerable and exposed, teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. _I’m not sure when I figured it out, Zayn, but I know._

“No, I mean,” he pulls his hand from Zayn’s chest to dig into his back pocket. “I want to marry you, Zayn.”

The words don’t register in his mind until his eyes sweep across the small black box resting in Liam’s palm, until Liam’s eyes are back on his own and the flame of the candle flickers off the tears building there. It doesn’t register in his mind until Liam is thumbing open the box and his eyes find the thin, gold band.

His body stills, and he’s not sure he can process the words rushing past Liam’s lips. “I mean, whenever you’re ready, Zayn. I made a mistake taking so long to catch on, to both my own feelings and yours. And I know you probably think I’m mad, but I don’t want to keep this to myself any longer.”

Zayn sees, more so than feels, the own tremble in his fingers when he reaches to touch the gold band, to make sure it’s real. That exhaustion isn’t taking over and causing him to imagine this, that Liam is actually proposing to him. It’s cold against his skin, and perfect. Nothing flashy or extravagant, and it matches the silver band Liam gave him for their first anniversary now currently wrapped around his ring finger.

“When?” Zayn clears his throat, finding words difficult to produce. “When did you decide this?”

Liam shrugs. “I guess when I realized how much I hated being away from you.”

Zayn tries taking the band from the box, but Liam swats away his hand. “Let me,” he mutters, grabbing hold of Zayn’s hand. “I’d like to do this proper. But, I’m not getting down on my knees. Not yet, at least.”

It breaks the tension in the air some, and Zayn lets out a breathy laugh as Liam pushes the band down his finger. “You don’t have to say yes,” Liam whispers. “Or anything, really.”

Zayn places his hands on the side of Liam’s neck after, tilting the other man’s head towards him. _I’m glad that you figured it out Liam, because I love you back, and I always have._

“Yes, yes.” He pauses, biting down on his bottom lip to contain the smile pressing against his mouth. “Yes, yes. Yes, and yes.”

Zayn presses their lips together without hesitation as Liam’s nose starts to crinkle, his lips starting to tremble like they do before he cries. Zayn kisses him hard, hoping Liam knows everything he wants to say. He’s not sure when the song started over, but he kisses Liam until he can no longer hear it over his gasps of breath.

“Are you sure?” Liam gasps between kisses. Zayn nods, not wanting to stop the movements of their lips. “I mean, because –“

Zayn pulls away, press his thumb against Liam’s lips to quiet him. “I love you, Liam. And I will marry you ten times over, please just kiss me now," he begs. It all feels a bit overwhelming.

Zayn doesn't think he'll ever forget the smile that breaks across Liam’s damp cheeks just then. “Okay, yeah. I love you,” Liam breaths, pressing his smiling mouth back to Zayn's.

He knows Liam will feel the dampness of his own cheeks as his hands cup Zayn's jaw and he hopes that Liam knows just how much he loves him too, how much he always has and how much he always will. 

**Author's Note:**

> umm so tell me what you think? [tumblr](http://zipplekink.tumblr.com) and [twitter](http://twitter.com/aveszayn) if you need it!


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